All goodwill and creativity from the band appears to be at the nadir for this great band. Is there a way back from the following:
1) Apple debacle - the biggest PR disaster ever. I certainly enjoyed a free U2 album out of nowhere but seems that Joe Public hated it. Ever since, they haven't shaken off such hysterical outcries of 'invasions of privacy'. A fantastic SOI tour and Joshua Tree tour doesn't seem to have watered down the hysteria in the intervening years.
2) No creativity. I can't be the only one to think that the desperate hiring of someone like Ryan Tedder is a band completely bereft of inspiration and ideas, resorting to the lowest common denominator in music to fill gaps in their songs with generic uninspired pop melodies.
3) Lack of experimentation. Linked to the above I suppose, but there seems to be a lack of curiosity and exploration that true artists crave. This is seen in their recent uninspired albums that have all the sonic and lyrical equivalence of beige wallpaper. Cue the 'dad rawk' riff from The Edge and Bono's faux-optimistic vague platitudes. All multi-millionaires living a life of excess wealth and materialism and getting to older, is the hunger and sense of wonder even there anymore?
4) Loss of fanbase. The more mature U2 listener craves the daring and ambitious band of previously, while younger music listeners laugh at their attempts to 'get down with the kids'. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, who exactly are their albums aimed at these days? See the disappointing chart sales of Songs of Experience in the UK - a paltry number five.
Mistakes businesswise and creatively in the studio seem to have given the idea that this band have nothing left in the tank. Glimmers of light, such as their collaboration with Andy Barlow, are the exception to the rule at this stage. Can anyone honestly see a way back for them?
1) Apple debacle - the biggest PR disaster ever. I certainly enjoyed a free U2 album out of nowhere but seems that Joe Public hated it. Ever since, they haven't shaken off such hysterical outcries of 'invasions of privacy'. A fantastic SOI tour and Joshua Tree tour doesn't seem to have watered down the hysteria in the intervening years.
2) No creativity. I can't be the only one to think that the desperate hiring of someone like Ryan Tedder is a band completely bereft of inspiration and ideas, resorting to the lowest common denominator in music to fill gaps in their songs with generic uninspired pop melodies.
3) Lack of experimentation. Linked to the above I suppose, but there seems to be a lack of curiosity and exploration that true artists crave. This is seen in their recent uninspired albums that have all the sonic and lyrical equivalence of beige wallpaper. Cue the 'dad rawk' riff from The Edge and Bono's faux-optimistic vague platitudes. All multi-millionaires living a life of excess wealth and materialism and getting to older, is the hunger and sense of wonder even there anymore?
4) Loss of fanbase. The more mature U2 listener craves the daring and ambitious band of previously, while younger music listeners laugh at their attempts to 'get down with the kids'. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, who exactly are their albums aimed at these days? See the disappointing chart sales of Songs of Experience in the UK - a paltry number five.
Mistakes businesswise and creatively in the studio seem to have given the idea that this band have nothing left in the tank. Glimmers of light, such as their collaboration with Andy Barlow, are the exception to the rule at this stage. Can anyone honestly see a way back for them?
